USC, Richmond Going Varsity?

The University of Southern California is "moving strongly in the
direction" of adding women's lacrosse as a varsity sport, an
athletics department spokesman said Wednesday, welcome news to a
California lacrosse community still digesting the announcement that
the 2011 season will be the last at the University of
California-Berkeley.

At about 12:30 p.m. Pacific, USC athletics broke the news on its
Twitter page with a quote from athletic
director Pat Haden. "We are going to add some sports," Haden said.
"I believe we are going to add women's sand volleyball, and we're
talking about a lacrosse program."

Sports information director Tim Tessalone confirmed the
tweet.

"USC is moving strongly in that direction of adding a women's
lacrosse program," Tessalone told Lacrosse Magazine Online's Clare
Lochary. "Nothing has been officially announced. We hope to have
more info in the near future."

USC currently competes as a member of the US Lacrosse Women's
Division Intercollegiate Associates (WDIA) club system. The Trojans
went 7-10 in 2010.

USC is a private university, unlike Cal-Berkeley, a state-funded
institution that was forced to cut five varsity sports --
including women's lacrosse -- in the
wake of a budget crisis. That announcement came Sept. 28.

According to the 2009 US Lacrosse Annual Report, "The burgeoning
lacrosse scene in California is led by the San Francisco area, with
more than 8,000 youth players reported by the Northern California
Chapter. An additional 6,500-plus youngsters are playing the sport
in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas... The Golden State has
added more than 140 boys and girls programs over the last five
years with 362 teams in 2009 -- a growth rate of 64 percent since
2005."

Efforts in California to get lacrosse in schools' physical
education programs, and to cultivate a knowledgable population of
coaches and players, have contributed to the surge.

"The electricity in the air regarding the growth of our sport is
unbelievable in Southern California," said Nancy Sheinbein,
president of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of US Lacrosse, which
will host the second-annual California Lacrosse Convention on Nov.
13 at Cal State Fullerton. "A Division I Program in Southern
California would surely represent an even more exhilarated pace of
development."

Also on Wednesday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the
University of Richmond has elevated its men's lacrosse program to
varsity club status. Former Ursinus head coach Glenn Carter has
been hired fulltime to coach the Spiders, who have an annual budget
of $128,000 and are looking to raise additional funds, according to
the report.

Richmond initially hopes to join the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse
Association (MCLA), a club entity. But Tom Roberts, UR's director
of recreation and wellness, told the Times-Dispatch that the
university will evaluate going varsity in men's lacrosse over the
next three years.